1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to illumination devices. More particularly, this invention relates to devices for illuminating a house address display, which is mounted near the house's entrance, so as to facilitate the display's observation from the adjoining street, while also automatically illuminating the area around the house's entrance in response to detecting the motion of someone approaching the house's entrance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Identifying houses by their street number or other identification and illuminating the entrances to houses during night-time hours have been long-standing problems. House numbers and the like are generally attached on or in the vicinity of the front door of a house, but few of these numbers are illuminated so as to facilitate their observation at night. Meanwhile, houses often have entrance lights near their front doors, but these lights frequently are not illuminated at night when one approaches such front doors.
Many U.S. patents have been directed to providing devices for illuminating house-identifying information. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,590,507, 4,009,535, 4,254,457, 4,373,284, 4,611,265, 4,807,378, 4,848,017, 4,854,062, 4,901,461, 4,951,406, 5,048,210, 5,305,979, 5,408,733 and 5,649,378. However, none of these disclose a device capable of automatically illuminating both house-identifying information and the area in the vicinity of where this information is mounted.
Despite this prior art, the need exists for an improved means for illuminating a house address display which is mounted near the house's entrance so as to facilitate the display's observation from the street, while also automatically illuminating the area around the house's entrance in response to detecting the motion of someone approaching the house's entrance.